In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, China Evergrande reaches an agreement with onshore bondholders to avoid default, while the beleaguered developer’s electric car unit tries to boost morale by dishing out stock options to staff.
In non-Evergrande news, China’s housing regulator is trying to end discount schemes amidst a home price slide and Singapore’s Pan Pacific Hotels plans to launch 13 new properties.
Evergrande Signs Deal to Avoid Bond Default
Embattled Chinese housing giant Evergrande on Wednesday said it had made a deal with domestic bondholders that should allow the conglomerate to avoid default on one of its interest payments.
Financial markets have tumbled over fears that the Chinese group could collapse, with the potential to derail the world’s second-biggest economy. Read more>>
Evergrande’s EV Unit Hands Out Share Options as Stock Plummets
The electric vehicle unit of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer, has granted share options worth HK$1.26 billion ($162 million) to directors and employees in a bid to “promote and support” the company’s development, according to a Tuesday filing.
A total of 323.72 million share options were granted to three independent non-executive directors and 3,180 employees of Evergrande NEV. The share options will be exercisable in four tranches starting from 20 March next year at HK$3.90 per share. That puts them at a premium of 34 percent to the closing price of HK$2.90 on Monday; the company’s shares have fallen by 90 percent in the year to date. Read more>>
IMF Says Evergrande Doesn’t Spell Systemic Crisis for China
The International Monetary Fund says it is closely following developments surrounding China Evergrande Group but believes Beijing has the tools to prevent the situation from turning into a systemic crisis.
Even so, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told Reuters that the real estate sector was a big part of China’s economy and that China Evergrande’s potential default could have implications for the country’s economic activity and financial stability. Read more>>
Chinese Cities Ask Developers to Stop Discount Gimmicks
At least eight cities in mainland China, from Zhuzhou in southern Hunan province to Huizhou in the Greater Bay Area, have come up with measures to prevent developers from offering excessively cheap homes, hoping to stabilise the market and prevent a collapse in prices.
The housing authorities in Zhuzhou earlier this month summoned executives of four local developers and a few property agencies, asking them to stop selling homes at prices that were “obviously lower than the market level” and urging them to end gimmicks such as deep discounts to tempt buyers. Read more>>
Bank of China Dangles Cash Rewards for Sustainable Housing Buyers
Bank of China Hong Kong, the largest provider of financing for completed homes in the city, is teaming up with developers to offer cash rewards to mortgage applicants in residential developments with “green credentials”.
The local unit of China’s third-largest banking group has lined up several projects from 10 developers so far under its Green Mortgage Plan to promote sustainable development, according to its website. Almost 2,300 units are still available for sale in those projects, according to data compiled by real estate agency 28Hse. Read more>>
Pan Pacific Hotels to Launch 13 New Properties by 2024
Pan Pacific Hotels Group will launch 13 new properties across 10 key gateway cities by 2024, it said in a press statement on Wednesday.
The move adds more than 3,300 rooms to the group’s inventory, bringing its total portfolio to 48 hotels, resorts and serviced suites across 29 cities. It also allows the company – a subsidiary of UOL Group – to establish its presence in cities including London, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Dalian, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap. Read more>>
Green Property Debt Frenzy Comes With Opaque Climate Standards
The 50-floor building designed to look like a bundle of chopsticks will stand out in China’s industrial hub of Shenzhen. It will also use natural ventilation, have a green roof and collect rainwater for irrigation — but that’s not unusual these days.
The Kaisa Group Holdings project is just one of hundreds around the world being driven by green bonds. Property firms have been among the cheerleaders of a rush to ethical finance, posing a challenge for investors to scrutinise how green this building frenzy actually is, at a time when debt from the sector is under pressure of contagion from distressed developer China Evergrande Group. Read more>>
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